1.
Italian Peninsula
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The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is the central and the smallest of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe. It extends 1,000 km from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south, the peninsulas shape gives it the nickname lo Stivale. Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this shape, namely Calabria, Salento. Geographically, the Italian peninsula consists of the south of a line extending from the Magra to the Rubicon rivers. It excludes the Po Valley and the slopes of the Alps. All of the lies within the territory of the Italian Republic except for the microstates of San Marino. Additionally, Sicily, Elba and other islands, such as Palagruža, are usually considered as islands off the peninsula. The peninsula lies between the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, the Ionian Sea on the south, and the Adriatic Sea on the east, the backbone of the Italian peninsula consists of the Apennine Mountains, from which it takes one of its names. Most of its coast is lined with cliffs, the Italian Peninsulas location between the centre of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea made it the target of many conquests. The peninsula has mainly a Mediterranean climate, though in the parts the climate is much cooler. Its natural vegetation includes macchia along the coasts and deciduous and mixed coniferous forests in the interior. Political divisions of the peninsula sorted by area, Apennine Mountains Roman Republic Roman Italy Insular Italy Media related to Italian Peninsula at Wikimedia Commons

2.
Western Roman Empire
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Theodosius I divided the Empire upon his death between his two sons. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire, for this reason, provincial governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman Republic. Antony received the provinces in the East, Achaea, Macedonia and Epirus, Bithynia, Pontus and Asia, Syria, Cyprus and these lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great, thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture. Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West, Italia, Gaul, Gallia Belgica and these lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the province of Africa. Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia to his holdings, upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all were often said to experience gradual Romanization, minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered tribes or cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion, while this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime, as for example in the Great Jewish Revolt. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions, under such as Vespasian, were far more numerous. To ensure a commanders loyalty, an emperor might hold some members of the generals family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis, governor of Ostia, the rule of Nero ended only with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a sword of Damocles, were often perceived as being of dubious loyalty. Following their example, the legions at the increased participation in the civil wars. The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic tribes behind the rivers Rhine, Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutoburg reversal. The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the hand, was too remote. Those distant territories were forsaken to prevent unrest and also to ensure a more healthy, the Parthians were followed by the Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire

3.
Pope Agapetus I
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Pope Agapetus I was Pope from 13 May 535 to his death in 536. He is not to be confused with another Saint Agapetus, an Early Christian martyr with the feast day of 6 August, Agapetus was born in Rome, although his exact date of birth is unknown. He was the son of Gordianus, a Roman priest who had been slain during the riots in the days of Pope Symmachus. The name of his father might point to a relation with two other Popes, Felix III and Gregory I. Gregory was a descendant of Felix. Gregorys father, Gordianus, held the position of Regionarius in the Roman Church, nothing further is known about the position. Jeffrey Richards describes him as the last survivor of the Symmachan old guard, having been ordained as a deacon perhaps as early as 502 and he was elevated from archdeacon to pope in 535. Meanwhile, the Byzantine general Belisarius was preparing for an invasion of Italy, king Theodahad of the Ostrogoths begged Agapetus to proceed on an embassy to Constantinople and use his personal influence to appease Emperor Justinian I following the death of Amalasuntha. To defray the costs of the embassy, Agapetus pledged the sacred vessels of the Church of Rome and he set out in mid-winter with five bishops and a large retinue. In February 536, he appeared in the capital of the East, Agapetus immediately turned his attention from the political matter Theodahad had sent him to address to a religious one. The occupant of the Byzantine patriarchal see was Anthimus I, who had left his see of Trebizond. Against the protests of the orthodox, the Empress Theodora finally seated Anthimus in the patriarchal chair, when Agapetus arrived members of the clergy entered charges against Anthimus as an intruder and a heretic. Agapetus ordered him to make a profession of faith and to return to his forsaken see, upon Anthimus refusal. The Emperor threatened Agapetus with banishment, Agapetus is said to have replied, With eager longing have I come to gaze upon the Most Christian Emperor Justinian. In his place I find a Diocletian, whose threats, however, Agapetus, for the first time in the history of the Church, personally consecrated Anthimus legally elected successor, Mennas. Four of Agapetus letters have survived, two are addressed to Justinian in reply to a letter from the emperor, in the latter of which he refuses to acknowledge the Orders of the Arians. A third is addressed to the bishops of Africa, on the same subject, the fourth is a response to Reparatus, Bishop of Carthage, who had sent him congratulations upon his elevation to the Pontificate. Shortly afterwards, Agapetus fell ill and died on 22 April 536 and his remains were brought in a lead coffin to Rome and deposited in St. Peters Basilica. Agapetus I has been canonised by both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions and his memory is kept on 20 September, the day of his deposition, in the Roman Catholic Church

4.
Agilulf
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Agilulf called the Thuringian, was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death. A relative of his predecessor Authari, Agilulf was selected king on the advice of the Christian queen and widow of Authari, Theodelinda, whom he then married. Although he assumed the dignity at the beginning of November 590. He was baptized to appease his wife and his nation followed suit, though they adopted the Arian denomination, in 603, under the influence of his wife, he abandoned Arianism for Catholicism, and had his son Adaloald baptised. His long reign was marked by the cessation of war with Francia, whose chief peacemaker Guntram, without him, the Franks descended into civil war which prevented a united assault on Lombardy throughout Agilulfs rule. A truce with the Papacy negotiated in 598 temporarily ended thirty years of Lombard terror in the Ducatus Romanus and he fought the Avars and Slavs, and entered a truce with the Byzantine emperor Maurice in 598 with the aid of Pope Gregory the Great. The following year, Exarch Callinicus broke the truce by kidnapping the daughter of the Lombard king. War erupted and, in 602, the Byzantine emperor Phocas lost Padua, the loss of Padua in turn cut off Mantua and, before the year was out, that city too fell to Agilulf. In 607, Witteric, king of the Visigoths, initiated an alliance against Theuderic II of Burgundy involving Theudebert II of Austrasia, Clotaire II of Neustria. Theuderics grandmother and sister had murdered Theuderics wife, the daughter of Witteric, the alliance does not seem to have had success. Nothing of any combat is known except that it took place. In 605, he was recognized by the emperor Phocas, who paid a tribute, the Persian Wars drew Byzantine attention to the Orient and gave respite to Agilulfs final decade on the throne. He had to put down some insurrections and the Avars did not desist from invading Friuli, otherwise, his reign ended peacefully and he died in 616, after reigning for more than a quarter of a century. He was succeeded by Adaloald, his son by Theodelinda, who was still an adolescent and he had a daughter Gundeberga who married Arioald who later became king

5.
Alboin
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Alboin was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the period of Alboins reign as king in Pannonia following the death of his father, Audoin, was one of confrontation and conflict between the Lombards and their main neighbors, the Gepids. The Gepids initially gained the hand, but in 567, thanks to his alliance with the Avars, Alboin inflicted a decisive defeat on his enemies. After gathering a large coalition of peoples, Alboin crossed the Julian Alps in 568 and he rapidly took control of most of Venetia and Liguria. In 569, unopposed, he took northern Italys main city, pavia offered stiff resistance however, and was taken only after a siege lasting three years. During that time Alboin turned his attention to Tuscany, but signs of factionalism among his supporters, Alboin was assassinated on June 28,572, in a coup détat instigated by the Byzantines. It was organized by the foster brother, Helmichis, with the support of Alboins wife, Rosamund. The coup failed in the face of opposition from a majority of the Lombards, for many centuries following his death Alboins heroism and his success in battle were celebrated in Saxon and Bavarian epic poetry. Wachos death in about 540 brought his son Walthari to the throne, seven years later Walthari died, giving Audoin the opportunity to crown himself and overthrow the reigning Lethings. Alboin was probably born in the 530s in Pannonia, the son of Audoin and his wife and she may have been the niece of King Theodoric and betrothed to Audoin through the mediation of Emperor Justinian. Like his father, Alboin was raised a pagan, although Audoin had at one point attempted to gain Byzantine support against his neighbours by professing himself a Christian, Alboin took as his first wife the Christian Chlothsind, daughter of the Frankish King Chlothar. The new Frankish alliance was important because of the Franks known hostility to the Byzantine empire, Alboin first distinguished himself on the battlefield in a clash with the Gepids. For this initiation, he went to the court of Thurisind, Walter Goffart believes it is probable that in this narrative Paul was making use of an oral tradition, and is sceptical that it can be dismissed as merely a typical topos of an epic poem. Alboin came to the throne after the death of his father, as was customary among the Lombards, Alboin took the crown after an election by the tribes freemen, who traditionally selected the king from the dead sovereigns clan. Shortly afterwards, in 565, a new war erupted with the Gepids, now led by Cunimund, the tale is treated with scepticism by Walter Goffart, who observes that it conflicts with the Origo Gentis Langobardorum, where she was captured only after the death of her father. The Gepids obtained the support of the Emperor in exchange for a promise to him the region of Sirmium. The Lombards played on the hostility between the Avars and the Byzantines, claiming that the latter were allied with the Gepids. Moreover, Justin II was moving away from the policy of Justinian

6.
Amalasuntha
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Amalasuntha was a regent of the Ostrogoths from 526 to 534. She was the youngest daughter of Theoderic the Great, and firmly believed in the upholding of Roman virtues and values and she is most well known for her diplomatic relationship with Justinian I, who would invade Italy in response to her assassination. It was important to Amalasunthas father, Theoderic the Great, that she marry into a royal family. She was very much an intellectual, and was known for her extensive knowledge. In addition, she was a student of philosophy, said to bear the wisdom of Solomon and her husband died, apparently in the early years of her marriage, leaving her with two children, Athalaric and Matasuntha, wife c.550 of Germanus. On the death of her father in 526, her son succeeded him at the age of ten and her tremendous influence in her position as regent can be seen in a diptych she appears in alongside her son, Athalaric, in 530. Deeply imbued with the old Roman culture, she gave to that sons education a more refined and her sons death in 534 made little change in the posture of affairs. After Athalarics death, Amalasuntha became queen, ruling independently only for a short while making her cousin Theodahad partner of her throne. Theodahad was a prominent leader of the Gothic military aristocracy, the group that so opposed her pro-Roman stances. Amalasuntha believed this pairing would help to make out of her harshest critics. The death of Amalasuntha would give Justinian a reason to go to war with the Ostrogoths, according to the Byzantine historian Procopius, it is believed that Amalasuntha and Justinian I had a very close diplomatic relationship. More specifically, Procopius believed that Amalasuntha was thinking about handing over Italy to Justinian around the time of her death, shortly after Amalasunthas murder, Theodahad would be replaced by Witigis, Amalasunthas son-in-law. With the peoples support, Witigis would have Theodahad put to death, the letters of Cassiodorus, chief minister and literary adviser of Amalasuntha, and the histories of Procopius and Jordanes, give us our chief information as to the character of Amalasuntha. Cassiodorus was a part of a greater pro-Roman party that desired to Romanize the traditional Ostrogothic kingship, the life of Amalasunta was made the subject of a tragedy, the first play written by the young Carlo Goldoni and presented at Milan in. Asteroid 650 Amalasuntha is named in her honour and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Amalasuntha

7.
Athalaric
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Athalaric was the King of the Ostrogoths in Italy between 526 and 534. He was a son of Eutharic and Amalasuntha and his maternal grandfather was Theoderic the Great. He succeeded his grandfather as king in 526, as Athalaric was only ten years old, the regency was assumed by his mother, Amalasuntha. His mother attempted to provide for him an education in the Roman tradition, as a result, Athalaric drank heavily and indulged in vicious excesses, which ruined his constitution. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh

8.
Augustine of Canterbury
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Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the Apostle to the English and a founder of the English Church, Kent was probably chosen because Æthelberht had married a Christian princess, Bertha, daughter of Charibert I the King of Paris, who was expected to exert some influence over her husband. Before reaching Kent, the missionaries had considered turning back, but Gregory urged them on, King Æthelberht converted to Christianity and allowed the missionaries to preach freely, giving them land to found a monastery outside the city walls. Augustine was consecrated as a bishop and converted many of the kings subjects, Roman bishops were established at London and Rochester in 604, and a school was founded to train Anglo-Saxon priests and missionaries. Augustine also arranged the consecration of his successor, Laurence of Canterbury, the archbishop probably died in 604 and was soon revered as a saint. After the withdrawal of the Roman legions from their province of Britannia in 410, before the Roman withdrawal, Britannia had been converted to Christianity and produced the ascetic Pelagius. Britain sent three bishops to the Council of Arles in 314, and a Gaulish bishop went to the island in 396 to help settle disciplinary matters, material remains testify to a growing presence of Christians, at least until around 360. After the Roman legions departed, pagan tribes settled the southern parts of the island while western Britain, beyond the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and this native British Church developed in isolation from Rome under the influence of missionaries from Ireland and was centred on monasteries instead of bishoprics. Other distinguishing characteristics were its calculation of the date of Easter, there is no evidence that these native Christians tried to convert the Anglo-Saxons. The invasions destroyed most remnants of Roman civilisation in the held by the Saxons and related tribes, including the economic. It was against this background that Pope Gregory I decided to send a mission, often called the Gregorian mission, the Kingdom of Kent was ruled by Æthelberht, who married a Christian princess named Bertha before 588, and perhaps earlier than 560. Bertha was the daughter of Charibert I, one of the Merovingian kings of the Franks, as one of the conditions of her marriage, she brought a bishop named Liudhard with her to Kent. Together in Canterbury, they restored a church dated to Roman times—possibly the current St Martins Church. Æthelberht was a pagan at this point but allowed his freedom of worship. One biographer of Bertha states that under his wifes influence, Æthelberht asked Pope Gregory to send missionaries, the historian Ian N. Wood feels that the initiative came from the Kentish court as well as the queen. Other historians, however, believe that Gregory initiated the mission, the mission may have been an outgrowth of the missionary efforts against the Lombards who, as pagans and Arian Christians, were not on good relations with the Catholic church in Rome. Aside from Æthelberhts granting of freedom of worship to his wife, Kent was the dominant power in southeastern Britain. Since the eclipse of King Ceawlin of Wessex in 592, Æthelberht was the leading Anglo-Saxon ruler, lastly, Kents proximity to the Franks allowed support from a Christian area

9.
Authari
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Authari also known as Agilolf, was king of the Lombards from 584 to his death. Authari was the son of Cleph, King of the Lombards, when the latter died in 574, the Lombard nobility refused to appoint a successor, resulting in ten years interregnum known as the Rule of the Dukes. In 574 and 575 the Lombards invaded Provence, then part of the kingdom of Burgundy of the Merovingian Guntram, the latter, in alliance with his nephew, the king of Austrasia Childebert II, replied by invading northern Italy. The Austrasian army descended the valley of the Adige and took Trent, the Byzantine emperor, Tiberius II, began to negotiate an alliance with the Franks and the Lombards, fearful of a pincer movement, elected another king. In 584, they elected Duke Authari and ceded him the capital of Pavia as well as half of their domains as a demesne. He spent his reign in wars with the Franks, the Byzantines. His first major test was the quashing of the rebel duke Droctulf of Brescello, having expelled him, he spent most of the rest of his six years on the throne fighting the exarch of Ravenna, Smaragdus, or the Merovingian kings. Guntram and Childebert were still not satisfied with their successes in Italy and they many times threatened invasion, following through on their threats twice. In 588, Authari defeated them handily, but in 590, the uncle and nephew led to armies across the Alps, respectively over Mont Cenis and the Brenner to Milan and Verona. Though Authari shut himself up in Pavia, the Franks accomplished little as the army did not meet them. Pestilence turned them around and they left the Lombards much chastened, Authari, when not controlled by foreign armies, expanded the Lombard dominion at the expense of Byzantium. He took the fortress of Comacchio and cut off communication between Padua and Ravenna, faroald, duke of Spoleto, captured the Ravennan seaport of Classis and utterly devastated it. Authari swept through the all the way to Reggio, vowing to take Calabria — a vow never to be kept by any Lombard. On 15 May 589, he married Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I, a Catholic, she had great influence among the Lombards for her virtue. When Authari died in Pavia in 590, possibly by poison, he was succeeded as king by Agilulf, duke of Turin, on the advice, sought by the dukes, of Theodelinda, who married the new king

10.
Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius
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Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius was a high official of the Eastern Roman Empire and the last ordinary consul of Roman history, holding the office in 541. According to the Liber Pontificalis, Basilius and Cethegus reached Constantinople where the Emperor Justinian consoled them, on 1 January 541 he took the consulate in Constantinople without colleague. It is not recorded how much longer Basilius lived after becoming consul, a consular diptych bearing the name Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius was first proposed to refer to him by Filippo Buonarroti in 1716. The consular diptych of Albinus Basilius lists his titles at the time of the consulate, vir inlustris, comes domesticorum, patricius, more recently Cameron and Schauer have defended Buonarottis identification. Martindale, John Robert, John Morris, and Arnold Hugh Martin Jones, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume 3, Cambridge University Press,1971, ISBN 0-521-20160-8, pp. 174–175

11.
Pope Benedict I
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Pope Benedict I was Pope from 2 June 575 to his death in 579. Benedict was the son of a man named Bonifacius, and was called Bonosus by the Greeks, the ravages of the Lombards rendered it very difficult to communicate with the Byzantine Emperor at Constantinople, who claimed the privilege of confirming the election of the popes. Hence there was a vacancy of nearly eleven months between the death of Pope John III and the arrival of the confirmation of Benedicts election on 2 June 575. Benedict granted an estate, the Massa Veneris, in the territory of Minturnae, marks near the walls of Spoleto. Famine followed the devastating Lombards, and from the few words the Liber Pontificalis has about Benedict and he was buried in the vestibule of the sacristy of the old Basilica of St. Peter. In a ceremony held in December, he ordained fifteen priests, as of 2016, there have been fifteen Popes named Benedict, as well as at least three Antipopes by the name. Some may be named after this obscure pontiff, but most take their name from Saint Benedict of Nursia. In particular, Pope Benedict XVI stated after his election that he was inspired by Pope Benedict XV, who led the Church through the chaos of World War I, and Saint Benedict of Nursia. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles

12.
Benedict of Nursia
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Benedict of Nursia is a Christian saint, who is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Catholic Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion and Old Catholic Churches. He is a saint of Europe. Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Lazio in Italy, the Order of Saint Benedict is of later origin and, moreover, not an order as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous congregations. Benedicts main achievement is his Rule of Saint Benedict, containing precepts for his monks and it is heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, and shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master. But it also has a spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom, for this reason, Benedict is often called the founder of western monasticism. The authenticity of this work has been disputed, especially by Dr Francis Clarke in his two volume work The Pseudo-Gregorian Dialogues. Book Two consists of a prologue and thirty-eight succinct chapters, gregory’s account of this saint’s life is not, however, a biography in the modern sense of the word. It provides instead a spiritual portrait of the gentle, disciplined abbot, in a letter to Bishop Maximilian of Syracuse, Gregory states his intention for his Dialogues, saying they are a kind of floretum of the most striking miracles of Italian holy men. Gregory did not set out to write a chronological, historically anchored story of Saint Benedict, but he did base his anecdotes on direct testimony. These followers, he says, are Constantinus, who succeeded Benedict as Abbot of Monte Cassino, Valentinianus, Simplicius, and Honoratus, who was abbot of Subiaco when St Gregory wrote his Dialogues. Gregory’s Dialogues Book Two, then, a medieval hagiography cast as a conversation between the Pope and his deacon Peter, is designed to teach spiritual lessons. He was the son of a Roman noble of Nursia, the modern Norcia, a tradition which Bede accepts makes him a twin with his sister Scholastica. If 480 is accepted as the year of his birth, the year of his abandonment of his studies, Saint Gregorys narrative makes it impossible to suppose him younger than 19 or 20 at the time. He was at the beginning of life, and he had at his disposal the means to a career as a Roman noble, clearly he was not a child. Benedict does not seem to have left Rome for the purpose of becoming a hermit and he took his old nurse with him as a servant and they settled down to live in Enfide. Enfide, which the tradition of Subiaco identifies with the modern Affile, is in the Simbruini mountains, about forty miles from Rome, a short distance from Enfide is the entrance to a narrow, gloomy valley, penetrating the mountains and leading directly to Subiaco. The cave has a large triangular-shaped opening and is ten feet deep

13.
Boethius
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Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius, was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, and philosopher of the early 6th century. Boethius was born in Rome to a family around 480 AD. His family, the Anicii, included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and his father, Manlius Boethius, who was appointed consul in 487, died while Boethius was young. Another patrician, Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, adopted and raised Boethius, instilling in him a love for literature and philosophy. Both Memmius Symmachus and Boethius were fluent in Greek, a rare skill at the time in the Western Empire, for this reason. The French scholar Pierre Courcelle has argued that Boethius studied at Alexandria with the Neo-Platonist philosopher Ammonius Hermiae, on account of his erudition, Boethius entered the service of Theodoric the Great at a young age and was already a senator by the age of 25. Boethius married his foster-fathers daughter, Rusticiana, their children included two boys, Symmachus and Boethius. In 522, the year his two sons were appointed joint consuls, Boethius accepted the appointment to the position of magister officiorum. This may have set in place a course of events that would lead to loss of royal favour, five hundred years later, this continuing disagreement led to the East-West Schism in 1054, in which communion between the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church was broken. In 523 Boethius fell from power, after a period of imprisonment in Pavia for what was deemed a treasonable offence, he was executed in 524. The primary sources are in agreement over the facts of what happened. At a meeting of the Royal Council in Verona, the referandarius Cyprianus accused the ex-consul Caecina Decius Faustus Albinus of treasonous correspondence with Justin I. Boethius leapt to his defense, crying, The charge of Cyprianus is false, but if Albinus did that, so also have I, Cyprianus then also accused Boethius of the same crime, and produced three men who claimed they had witnessed the crime. First the pair were detained in the baptistery of a church, then Boethius was exiled to the Ager Calventianus, a distant country estate, the basic facts in the case are not in dispute, writes Jeffrey Richards. What is disputed about this sequence of events is the interpretation that should be put on them, Boethius claims his crime was seeking the safety of the Senate. He describes the three witnesses against him as dishonorable, Basilius had been dismissed from Royal service for his debts, while Venantius Opilio, however, other sources depict these men in a far more positive light. For example, Cassiodorus describes Cyprianus and Opilio as utterly scrupulous, just and loyal and mentions they are brothers, Theodoric was feeling threatened by international events. The Acacian Schism had been resolved, and the Nicene Christian aristocrats of his kingdom were seeking to renew their ties with Constantinople, the Catholic Hilderic had become king of the Vandals and had put Theodorics sister Amalafrida to death, and Arians in the East were being persecuted

14.
Pope Boniface II
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Pope Boniface II was the first Germanic pope. He reigned from 17 September 530 until his death in 532, Boniface was chosen by his predecessor, Pope Felix IV, who had been a strong adherent of the Arian king, and was never elected. He was later elected, largely due to the influence of the Gothic king Athalaric, for a time, Boniface served as pope in competition with Dioscorus, who had been elected by most of the priests of Rome. Boniface and Dioscorus were both consecrated in Rome on 22 September 530, but Dioscurus died only days later. Boniface IIs most notable act was confirming the decisions of the Council of Orange, Boniface was buried in St. Peters on 17 October 532. Boniface changed the numbering of the years in the Julian Calendar from Ab Urbe Condita to Anno Domini

15.
Cassiodorus
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Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer serving in the administration of Theoderic the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank, Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in Calabria, Italy. He began his career as councillor to his father, the governor of Sicily, while still young, he made a name for himself as learned in the ways of law. During his working life he worked as quaestor sacri palatii c, 507–511, as a consul in 514, then as magister officiorum under Theoderic, and later under the regency for Theoderics young successor, Athalaric. Cassiodorus kept copious records and letterbooks concerning public affairs, at the Gothic court his literary skill, which seems mannered and rhetorical to modern readers, was so esteemed that when in Ravenna he was often entrusted with drafting significant public documents. His culminating appointment was as praetorian prefect for Italy, effectively the prime ministership of the Ostrogothic civil government, Cassiodorus also collaborated with Pope Agapetus I in establishing a library of Greek and Latin texts which were intended to support a Christian school in Rome. In addition, Boethius father-in-law Symmachus, by this time a distinguished elder statesman, all this was a result of the worsening split between the ancient senatorial aristocracy centered in Rome and the adherents of Gothic rule at Ravenna. But to read Cassiodorus Variae one would never suspect such goings-on, there is no mention in Cassiodorus selection of official correspondence of the death of Boethius. Athalaric died in early 534, and the remainder of Cassiodorus public career was dominated by the Byzantine reconquest and his last letters were drafted in the name of Vitiges. Around 537-38, he left Italy for Constantinople, where his successor was appointed from and he notably met Junillus, the quaestor of Justinian. His Constantinopolitan journey contributed to the improvement of his religious knowledge, Cassiodorus spent his career trying to bridge the 6th century cultural divides, between East and West, Greek culture and Latin, Roman and Goth, and between an Orthodox people and their Arian ruler. He speaks fondly in his Institutiones of Dionysius Exiguus, the calculator of the Anno Domini era, in his retirement he founded the monastery of Vivarium on his family estates on the shores of the Ionian Sea, and his writings turned to religion. Cassiodorus Vivarium monastery school was composed of two buildings, a coenobitic monastery and a retreat, for those who desired a more solitary life. Both were located on the site of the modern Santa Maria de Vetere near Squillace, the twin structure of Vivarium was to permit coenobitic monks and hermits to coexist. The Vivarium appears not to have governed by a strict monastic rule. Rather Cassiodorus Institutiones was written to guide the monks studies, to this end, the Institutiones focuses largely on texts assumed to have been available in Vivariums library. The Institutiones seem to have composed over a lengthy period of time, from the 530s into the 550s. Through them I believe that both the sequence of Holy Scripture and also a compact account of secular letters may, with Gods grace

16.
Cleph
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Cleph was king of the Lombards from 572 to 574. He succeeded Alboin, to whom he was not related by blood and he was a violent and terrifying figure to the Romans and Byzantines struggling to maintain control of the peninsula. He extended Lombard dominion over all of northern Italy, finishing the conquest of Tuscany and he was assassinated after an 18-month reign by a young guard, a slave whom he had mistreated. His death was followed by a 10-year interregnum, known as the Rule of the Dukes because the dukes were supreme. His son, Authari, eventually took the throne in 585

17.
Eraric
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Eraric was briefly King of the Ostrogoths, elected as the most distinguished among the Rugians in the confederation of the Ostrogoths. He summoned a council directed to convincing the confederation to make peace with the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian, the Ostrogoths opposed the ceasefire under the negotiations, and they instead elected Ildibads nephew Totila. Soon afterwards Eraric was killed by Totilas followers, history of the later Roman Empire from the death of Theodosius I. Volume 2 by John Bagnell Bury

18.
Eutharic
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Eutharic Cilliga was an Ostrogothic prince from Iberia who, during the early 6th century, served as Roman Consul and son in arms alongside the Byzantine emperor Justin I. He was the son-in-law and presumptive heir of the Ostrogoth king Theoderic the Great, during his year of consulship in 519 relations with the East Roman Empire flourished and the Acacian schism between the Eastern and Western Christian churches was ended. Some time after the death of Eutharic, his son Athalaric briefly held the Ostrogothic throne, after Athalarics death, Eutharics widow moved to Constantinople where further attempts at establishing a dynasty failed. Eutharic was born around AD480 to a noble family of the Amali line. Eutharics ancestry has been traced back through his father Veteric, son of Berismund, son of Thorismund, son of Hunimund, son of Hermanaric, Eutharic grew up in Iberia where he had a reputation for being a young man strong in wisdom and valor and health of body. He was later to become the son in arms to the Byzantine emperor Justin I, Eutharics status in both the Gothic and Roman world was elevated by the attentions of Theoderic the Great who he was related to distantly through their mutual connection with Hermanric. Hermanric was an Ostrogoth chief who ruled much of the north of the Black Sea. Eutharic was descended through five generations from Hermanric, whilst Theoderic was a descendant of Hermanrics older brother Vultwulf, by the late 5th century Theoderic was king of the Ostrogoths, ruling from Ravenna in Italy and a close ally of the Roman Emperor Zeno. Following the death of a rival, Theodoric Strabo, Theoderic the Great received the titles of patricius and magister militum from Zeno, having worked throughout his life to establish a kingdom and strengthen relations with both the church and Rome, Theoderic was keen to establish a dynasty. His marriage to Audofleda however had produced only a daughter, Amalasuintha, therefore, to achieve his ambitions Theoderic would have to ensure he chose a son-in-law with an ancestry equal in strength to his own. His investigations into the Gothic royal lines, which were by this time widely distributed across Europe, here he discovered Eutharic, the last heir of a related branch of the Amali, who had recently assumed the regency of Spain. More recent studies however suggest that Eutharics Amali ancestry may have been an invention on the part of Theoderic to aid his ambitions of establishing dynastic credibility. According to Gesta Theoderici Eutharic belonged to the Gothic house of Alan rather than the house of Amal. Whilst Jordanes, in his history of the Goths, does make reference to Eutharics prudentia et virtus, or pride and valour and those qualities were recognised as requirements of Gothic ethnographic ideology, expressed in their code of civilitas. It would have been beneficial for Theoderics chosen son-in-law to possess them. In AD515 Eutharic answered a summons by Theoderic the Great, here he was given in marriage Amalasuintha, the daughter of the king. It was Theoderics intention that this union would create a long-lasting dynastic connection between the previously sundered Ostrogoths and Visigoths, Theoderic also named Eutharic his presumptive heir. Whilst in Italy, Eutharic played an important political role within Theoderics kingdom, with a court background he had the ability to serve in government and he was respected by the Romans, who admired his liberality and magnificence

19.
Pope Felix IV
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Pope Felix IV served as the Pope of the Catholic Church from 12 July 526 to his death in 530. He came from Samnium, the son of one Castorius, following the death of Pope John I at the hands of the Ostrogoth King Theodoric the Great, the papal voters gave in to the kings demands and chose Cardinal Felix as Pope. Felixs favor in the eyes of the king caused him to push for greater benefits for the Church and he was elected after a gap of nearly two months after the death of John I. During his reign, an Imperial edict was passed granting that cases against clergy should be dealt with by the Pope and he defined church teaching on grace and free will in response to a request of Faustus of Riez, in Gaul, on opposing Semi-Pelagianism. Felix attempted to designate his own successor, Pope Boniface II, the reaction of the Senate was to forbid the discussion of a pope’s successor during his lifetime or to accept such a nomination. The majority of the clergy reacted to Felixs activity by nominating Dioscorus as Pope, Felix built the Santi Cosma e Damiano in the Imperial forums. His feast day is celebrated on 30 January, when regnal numbering of the Popes began to be used, Antipope Felix II was counted as one of the Popes of that name. The second true Pope Felix is thus known by the number III, and this custom also affected the name taken by Antipope Felix V, who would have been the fourth Pope Felix. List of Catholic saints List of popes Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes Fontes Latinae de papis usque ad annum 530 Liber pontificalis

20.
Gisulf I of Friuli
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Gisulf I was probably the first duke of Friuli. Before this, Gisulf had been Alboins marpahis or master of the horse and he was, according to Paul the Deacon, a man suitable in every way. He asked Alboin for permission to choose which faras or clans he would lead or rule over in Friuli, and he thus chose which families would settle permanently in Friuli, and he acquired the honour of a leader. As well, Alboin granted him a great herd of mares and he reigned during the Rule of the Dukes from 575 to 585. He was succeeded by his son, Gisulf II, chronicon at the Institut für Mittelalter Forschung

21.
Pope Gregory I
–
Pope Saint Gregory I, commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was pope of the Catholic Church from 3 September 590 to his death in 604. Gregory is famous for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome to convert a pagan people to Christianity, Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. He is also known as the Great Visionary of Modern Educational System, for his writings, the epithet Saint Gregory the Dialogist has been attached to him in Eastern Christianity because of his Dialogues. For this reason, English translations of Eastern texts will sometimes list him as Gregory Dialogos or the Latinized equivalent Dialogus. A senators son and himself the Prefect of Rome at 30, Gregory tried the monastery but soon returned to public life, ending his life. Although he was the first pope from a background, his prior political experiences may have helped him to be a talented administrator. Gregory regained papal authority in Spain and France, and sent missionaries to England, the realignment of barbarian allegiance to Rome from their Arian Christian alliances shaped medieval Europe. Gregory saw Franks, Lombards, and Visigoths align with Rome in religion, throughout the Middle Ages he was known as the Father of Christian Worship because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day. His contributions to the development of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, Gregory is a Doctor of the Church and one of the Latin Fathers. He is considered a saint in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. The Protestant reformer John Calvin admired Gregory and declared in his Institutes that Gregory was the last good pope and he is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers. The exact date of Gregorys birth is uncertain, but is estimated to be around the year 540. The medieval writer who provided this etymology did not hesitate to apply it to the life of Gregory, aelfric states, He was very diligent in Gods Commandments. Gregory was born into a wealthy patrician Roman family with connections to the church. Gregorys mother, Silvia, was well-born, and had a sister, Pateria. His mother and two aunts are honored by Catholic and Orthodox churches as saints. Gregorys great-great-grandfather had been Pope Felix III, the nominee of the Gothic king, Gregorys election to the throne of St Peter made his family the most distinguished clerical dynasty of the period. The family owned and resided in a villa suburbana on the Caelian Hill, the north of the street runs into the Colosseum, the south, the Circus Maximus

22.
Helmichis
–
Helmichis was a Lombard noble who killed his king, Alboin, in 572 and unsuccessfully attempted to usurp his throne. Alboins queen, Rosamund, supported or at least did not oppose Helmichis plan to remove the king, the assassination was assisted by Peredeo, the kings chamber-guard, who in some sources becomes the material executer of the murder. Helmichis is first mentioned by the contemporary chronicler Marius of Avenches, the background to the assassination begins when Alboin killed the king of the Gepids in 567 and captured the kings daughter Rosamund. After Alboins death, Helmichis attempted to gain the throne, rather than going to war, Helmichis, Rosamund and their followers escaped to Ravenna, the capital of Byzantine Italy, where they were received with full honours by the authorities. Once in Ravenna, Rosamund was persuaded by the Byzantine prefect Longinus to kill Helmichis in order to be free to marry him. Rosamund proceeded to poison Helmichis, but the latter, having understood what his wife had done to him, forced her to drink the cup too, after their deaths, Longinus dispatched Helmichis forces to Constantinople, while the remaining Lombards had already found a new king in Cleph. The oldest author to write about Helmichis is the contemporary chronicler Marius of Avenches, in his account he mentions that Alboin was killed by his followers, that is Hilmaegis with the rest, his wife agreeing to it. Marius continues by adding that, after killing the king, Helmichis married his widow and his attempt failed and he was forced to escape together with his wife, the royal treasure and the troops that had sided with him in the coup. This account has strong similarities with what is told in the Origo, the Origo would in its turn become a direct source for the Historia Langobardorum. The background to the assassination begins when Alboin, king of the Lombards, in a decisive battle, Alboin killed the Gepid king Cunimund and captured the kings daughter Rosamund – later marrying her to guarantee the loyalty of the surviving Gepids. The following year, the Lombards migrated to Italy, a territory held by the Byzantine Empire. In 569 Alboin took Mediolanum, the capital of northern Italy, the Byzantine forces entrenched themselves in the strategic town of Ticinum, which they took only after a long siege. Even before taking Ticinum, the Lombards crossed the Apennines and invaded Tuscia, after the fall of Ticinum, Alboin chose Verona as his first permanent headquarters. In this town Alboin was assassinated in 572 and it is in these circumstances that Helmichis name is first heard of, most of the available details are in the Historia Langobardorum. By settling himself in Verona and temporarily interrupting his chain of conquests, the first to take advantage of this was Rosamund, who could count on the support of the Gepid warriors in the town in her search for an opportunity to avenge the death of her father. Helmichis persuaded Rosamund to involve Peredeo, described by Paul simply as a strong man. This story is partly in conflict with what is told by the Origo, according to historian Paolo Delogu it may be that Agnellus narrative better reflects Lombard oral tradition than Pauls. In his interpretation, Pauls narrative represents a distortion of the Germanic myths

23.
Pope Hormisdas
–
Pope Hormisdas was Pope from 20 July 514 to his death in 523. His papacy was dominated by the Acacian schism, started in 484 by Acacius of Constantinoples efforts to placate the Monophysites. His efforts to resolve this schism were successful, and on 28 March 519, Jeffrey Richards explains Hormisdas Persian name as probably in honour of an exiled Persian noble, Hormizd, celebrated in the Roman martyrology but not so honoured in the East. The names of his father and son suggest he had an otherwise straightforward Italian pedigree, however, according to Iranica he was probably related to Hormizd. He was born at Frosinone, Campagna di Roma, Italy, before becoming a Roman deacon, Hormisdas was married, and his son would in turn become Pope under the name of Silverius. During the Laurentian schism, Hormisdas was one of the most prominent clerical partisans of Pope Symmachus and he was notary at the synod held at St. Peters in 502. Two letters of Magnus Felix Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, survive addressed to him, written when the tried to regain horses. Unlike his predecessor Symmachus, his election lacked any notable controversies, the schism had lingered on largely out of personal hatred to Symmachus, writes Jeffrey Richards, something with which Hormisdas was apparently not tainted. Richards points out there would bound to be some tentative efforts from Constantinople. Relations between Symmachus and the emperor Anastasius had been virtually non-existent, Anastasius wrote to Hormisdas on 28 December 514, inviting him to a synod that would be held 1 July of the following year. A second, less courteous invitation, dated 12 January 515, was sent by Anastasius to the pope. On 4 April Hormisdas answered, expressing his delight at the prospect of peace, but at the same time defending the position of his predecessors and welcoming a synod, the bearers of the emperors first letter at last reached Rome on 14 May. The pope guardedly carried on negotiations, convened a synod at Rome, meanwhile, the two hundred bishops who had assembled on 1 July at Heraclea separated without accomplishing anything. The popes embassy to the court consisted of two bishops, Ennodius of Pavia and Fortunatus of Catina, the priest Venantius, the deacon Vitalis. Thus the emperor proposed a discussion in council, the pope required the unqualified acceptance of orthodoxy. However both the Senate, as well as King Theodoric, stayed loyal to the pope, a second papal embassy consisting of Ennodius and Bishop Peregrinus of Misenum was as unsuccessful as the first. Anastasius even attempted to bribe the legates, but was unsuccessful, secure now that Vitalian had been defeated outside Constantinople, forced into hiding, and his supporters executed, Anastasius announced on 11 July 517 that he was breaking off the negotiations. But less than a year later the emperor died, the Liber Pontificalis claims he was dead by a thunderbolt

24.
Ildibad
–
Ildibad was a king of the Ostrogoths in Italy in 540-541. Ildibad was a nephew of Theudis, one of the Visigothic kings in Spain and this relationship led Peter Heather to suggest that both belonged to a powerful, non-royal clan. In the 540, the Ostrogothic king Witiges was taken prisoner by Belisarius in Ravenna, Ildibads children were also taken prisoner. Ildibad was one of the Goths north of the Po river who still refused to surrender to Roman authority, following Witiges capture however, Ildibad had attempted to negotiate terms of surrender with Belisarius, perhaps because of the fate of his children. After Witigess capture, the candidate for the Ostrogothic throne became Uraias, who was Witiges nephew. Uraias however declined because his family lacked royal fortune, and instead suggested Ildibad and these were the only cities still held by the Ostrogoths at this time. After being elected king in 540, Ildibad moved his capital to Pavia, Ildibad again attempted to negotiate a surrender, but after Belisarius sailed to Constantinople along with Witiges and Ildibads family, the war resumed. The Gothic territory at this time constisted only of a strip of land between Pavia and Verona, while the army consisted of barely 1,000 men, although this number was growing. The lack of coordination between the remaining Byzantine commanders enabled Ildibad to extend his authority throughout Liguria and Venetia, in 541 AD he was engaged outside the heavily defended city of Treviso by its military commander Vitalius and a sizable body of Heruli. The battle was a victory for the Goths, with Vitalius barely escaping while the Heruli leader was killed. His nephew Totila then became commander of Treviso. Ildibad was subsequently able to extend his authority across the entire Po Valley, the victory gave him increased support among the Goths, while the ruinous Roman taxation of the provinces and lack of coordination between generals enabled him to acquire many Roman deserters. In 541, Ildibad had Uraias murdered, according to Procopius, Uraiass murder had been instigated by Ildibads wife, who felt insulted by the lavish lifestyle of Uraias wife. In any case, Ildibad was in May 541 murdered at a banquet by his Gepid bodyguard. The lack of a suitable Gothic successor enabled the Rugians to make their chief Eraric king of the Goths, Eraric however betrayed the Goths and secretly offered to surrender the Gothic kingdom to the Byzantines in return for money. As a result, the Goths at Pavia offered Ildibads nephew Totila the throne, Totila was at that point himself negotiating with the imperial commander at Ravenna, and demanded the killing of Eraric if he was to accept the throne. After Eraric was killed in October 541, Totila became king of the Ostrogoths, history of the Later Roman Empire, Vol.2, From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian

25.
Pope John I
–
Pope John I can also refer to Pope John I of Alexandria. Pope John I was Pope from 13 August 523 to his death in 526 and he was a native of Siena, in Italy. He is the first pope known to have visited Constantinople during papacy and he may also be the Deacon John to whom Boethius, the 6th-Century philosopher, dedicated three of his five religious tractates, or treatises, written between 512 and 520. John was very frail when he was elected to the papacy as Pope John I, king Theodoric threatened that if John should fail in his mission, there would be reprisals against the orthodox, or non-Arian, Catholics in the West. John proceeded to Constantinople with an entourage, his religious companions included Bishop Ecclesius of Ravenna, Bishop Eusebius of Fanum Fortunae. His secular companions were the senators Flavius Theodorus, Inportunus, Agapitus, although John was successful in his mission, when he returned to Ravenna, Theodorics capital in Italy, Theodoric had John arrested on the suspicion of having conspired with Emperor Justin. John was imprisoned at Ravenna, where he died of neglect and his body was transported to Rome and buried in the Basilica of St. Peter. The Liber Pontificalis credits John with making repairs to the cemetery of the martyrs Nereus and Achilleus on the Via Ardeatina, that of Saints Felix and Adauctus, and the cemetery of Priscilla. Pope John I is depicted in art as looking through the bars of a prison or imprisoned with a deacon and he is venerated at Ravenna and in Tuscany. His feast day is 18 May, the anniversary of the day of his death, List of Catholic saints List of popes

26.
Pope John II
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Pope John II was Pope from 2 January 533 to his death in 535. Born in Rome as Mercurius, the son of Projectus, he became a priest of the Basilica di San Clemente on the Caelian Hill and he was made pope on 2 January 533. The basilica of St. Clement still retains several memorials of Johannes surnamed Mercurius, Mercurius was the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy. Considering his birth name to be honored the pagan god Mercury—he took the name John after Pope John I. At this period, simony in the election of popes and bishops was rife among clergy, during the sede vacante of over two months, shameless trafficking in sacred things was indulged in. Even sacred vessels were exposed for sale, the matter had been brought before the Senate, and laid before the Arian Ostrogothic Court at Ravenna. The last decree which the Roman Senate is known to have issued, passed under Boniface II, was directed against simony in papal elections, the decree was confirmed by Athalaric, king of the Ostrogoths. He ordered it to be engraved on marble and to be placed in the atrium of St. Peters Basilica in 533 and this sum was to be given to the poor. John remained on good terms with Athalaric, who, being an Arian Christian, was content to refer to Johns tribunal all actions brought against the Roman clergy. The notorious adulterous behavior of Contumeliosus, Bishop of Riez in Provence, until a new bishop could be appointed, he bade the clergy of Riez obey the Bishop of Arles. The question of re-admittance to the lapsed troubled north Africa for centuries, the answer to their question was given by Agapetus, as John II died on 8 May 535. He was buried in St Peters Basilica

Italian Peninsula
–
The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is the central and the smallest of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe. It extends 1,000 km from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south, the peninsulas shape gives it the nickname lo Stivale. Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this shape, namely Calabria, Sa

1.
Satellite view of the peninsula in March 2003.

Western Roman Empire
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Theodosius I divided the Empire upon his death between his two sons. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire, for this reason, provincial governors had de facto r

1.
Tremissis depicting Flavius Julius Nepos (474-480), the de jure last Emperor of the Western Court

Pope Agapetus I
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Pope Agapetus I was Pope from 13 May 535 to his death in 536. He is not to be confused with another Saint Agapetus, an Early Christian martyr with the feast day of 6 August, Agapetus was born in Rome, although his exact date of birth is unknown. He was the son of Gordianus, a Roman priest who had been slain during the riots in the days of Pope Symm

1.
Pope Saint Agapetus I

2.
Virgin Mary

Agilulf
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Agilulf called the Thuringian, was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death. A relative of his predecessor Authari, Agilulf was selected king on the advice of the Christian queen and widow of Authari, Theodelinda, whom he then married. Although he assumed the dignity at the beginning of November 590. He was baptized to appe

1.
Woodcut vignette of Agilulf in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle

2.
King Agilulf represented on a 7th-century helmet plate from Valdinievole Bargello National Museum; Florence

4.
Non-dynastic

Alboin
–
Alboin was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the period of Alboins reign as king in Pannonia following the death of his father, Audoin, was one of confrontation and conflict between the Lombards and their main neighbors, the Gepids. The Gepids initially gained t

1.
Woodcut vignette of Alboin in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle

2.
The Vipava Valley in Slovenia, through which Alboin led the Lombards into Italy

3.
A modern rendering of Alboin's entrance into Ticinum

4.
The fatal banquet as painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1615

Amalasuntha
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Amalasuntha was a regent of the Ostrogoths from 526 to 534. She was the youngest daughter of Theoderic the Great, and firmly believed in the upholding of Roman virtues and values and she is most well known for her diplomatic relationship with Justinian I, who would invade Italy in response to her assassination. It was important to Amalasunthas fath

1.
Amalasiuntha regina - woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)

Athalaric
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Athalaric was the King of the Ostrogoths in Italy between 526 and 534. He was a son of Eutharic and Amalasuntha and his maternal grandfather was Theoderic the Great. He succeeded his grandfather as king in 526, as Athalaric was only ten years old, the regency was assumed by his mother, Amalasuntha. His mother attempted to provide for him an educati

Augustine of Canterbury
–
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the Apostle to the English and a founder of the English Church, Kent was probably chosen because Æthelberht had married a Christian princess, Bertha, daughter of Charibert I the King of Paris, who was expected to exert some

1.
Portrait labelled "AUGUSTINUS" from the mid-8th century Saint Petersburg Bede, though perhaps intended as Gregory the Great.

2.
Map of the general outlines of some of the British kingdoms about 600

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Æthelberht of Kent imagined in a statue from Canterbury Cathedral

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Augustine's gravesite at Canterbury

Authari
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Authari also known as Agilolf, was king of the Lombards from 584 to his death. Authari was the son of Cleph, King of the Lombards, when the latter died in 574, the Lombard nobility refused to appoint a successor, resulting in ten years interregnum known as the Rule of the Dukes. In 574 and 575 the Lombards invaded Provence, then part of the kingdom

1.
Woodcut vignette of Authari in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle

2.
Non-dynastic

Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius
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Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius was a high official of the Eastern Roman Empire and the last ordinary consul of Roman history, holding the office in 541. According to the Liber Pontificalis, Basilius and Cethegus reached Constantinople where the Emperor Justinian consoled them, on 1 January 541 he took the consulate in Constantinople without colle

1.
Consular diptych of Albinus Basilius

Pope Benedict I
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Pope Benedict I was Pope from 2 June 575 to his death in 579. Benedict was the son of a man named Bonifacius, and was called Bonosus by the Greeks, the ravages of the Lombards rendered it very difficult to communicate with the Byzantine Emperor at Constantinople, who claimed the privilege of confirming the election of the popes. Hence there was a v

1.
Pope Saint Benedict I

Benedict of Nursia
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Benedict of Nursia is a Christian saint, who is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Catholic Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion and Old Catholic Churches. He is a saint of Europe. Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Lazio in Italy, the Order of Saint Benedict is of later origin and, more

4.
Image of Saint Benedict with a cross and a scroll stating Vade Retro Satana which is abbreviated on the Saint Benedict Medal

Boethius
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Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius, was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, and philosopher of the early 6th century. Boethius was born in Rome to a family around 480 AD. His family, the Anicii, included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and his father, Manlius Boethius, who was appointed consul in 487, die

1.
Boethius teaching his students (initial in a 1385 Italian manuscript of the Consolation of Philosophy.)

Pope Boniface II
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Pope Boniface II was the first Germanic pope. He reigned from 17 September 530 until his death in 532, Boniface was chosen by his predecessor, Pope Felix IV, who had been a strong adherent of the Arian king, and was never elected. He was later elected, largely due to the influence of the Gothic king Athalaric, for a time, Boniface served as pope in

1.
Pope Boniface II

Cassiodorus
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Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer serving in the administration of Theoderic the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank, Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in Calabria, Italy. He began his career as councillor to his fath

2.
Vivarium from the Bamberg manuscript of the Institutiones Patr. 61, fol. 29v

Cleph
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Cleph was king of the Lombards from 572 to 574. He succeeded Alboin, to whom he was not related by blood and he was a violent and terrifying figure to the Romans and Byzantines struggling to maintain control of the peninsula. He extended Lombard dominion over all of northern Italy, finishing the conquest of Tuscany and he was assassinated after an

1.
Non-dynastic

Eraric
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Eraric was briefly King of the Ostrogoths, elected as the most distinguished among the Rugians in the confederation of the Ostrogoths. He summoned a council directed to convincing the confederation to make peace with the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian, the Ostrogoths opposed the ceasefire under the negotiations, and they instead elected Ildibads n

1.
Non-dynastic

Eutharic
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Eutharic Cilliga was an Ostrogothic prince from Iberia who, during the early 6th century, served as Roman Consul and son in arms alongside the Byzantine emperor Justin I. He was the son-in-law and presumptive heir of the Ostrogoth king Theoderic the Great, during his year of consulship in 519 relations with the East Roman Empire flourished and the

1.
Cassiodorus (Woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493).

Pope Felix IV
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Pope Felix IV served as the Pope of the Catholic Church from 12 July 526 to his death in 530. He came from Samnium, the son of one Castorius, following the death of Pope John I at the hands of the Ostrogoth King Theodoric the Great, the papal voters gave in to the kings demands and chose Cardinal Felix as Pope. Felixs favor in the eyes of the king

1.
Pope Saint Felix IV (III)

2.
Virgin Mary

Gisulf I of Friuli
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Gisulf I was probably the first duke of Friuli. Before this, Gisulf had been Alboins marpahis or master of the horse and he was, according to Paul the Deacon, a man suitable in every way. He asked Alboin for permission to choose which faras or clans he would lead or rule over in Friuli, and he thus chose which families would settle permanently in F

1.
This cross has traditionally been linked to Gisulf.

Pope Gregory I
–
Pope Saint Gregory I, commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was pope of the Catholic Church from 3 September 590 to his death in 604. Gregory is famous for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome to convert a pagan people to Christianity, Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of a

1.
Pope Gregory dictating the Gregorian chant

2.
Jerome and Gregory.

3.
Illumination in a 12th-century manuscript of a letter of Gregory's to Saint Leander, bishop of Seville (Bibl. Municipale, MS 2, Dijon).

4.
Saint Gregory the Great

Helmichis
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Helmichis was a Lombard noble who killed his king, Alboin, in 572 and unsuccessfully attempted to usurp his throne. Alboins queen, Rosamund, supported or at least did not oppose Helmichis plan to remove the king, the assassination was assisted by Peredeo, the kings chamber-guard, who in some sources becomes the material executer of the murder. Helm

3.
Alboin is killed by Peredeo while Rosamund steals his sword, in a 19th-century painting by Charles Landseer

4.
A miniature of Longinus, the Byzantine official said by Paul to be behind's Helmichis' death

Pope Hormisdas
–
Pope Hormisdas was Pope from 20 July 514 to his death in 523. His papacy was dominated by the Acacian schism, started in 484 by Acacius of Constantinoples efforts to placate the Monophysites. His efforts to resolve this schism were successful, and on 28 March 519, Jeffrey Richards explains Hormisdas Persian name as probably in honour of an exiled P

1.
Pope Saint Hormisdas

2.
Virgin Mary

Ildibad
–
Ildibad was a king of the Ostrogoths in Italy in 540-541. Ildibad was a nephew of Theudis, one of the Visigothic kings in Spain and this relationship led Peter Heather to suggest that both belonged to a powerful, non-royal clan. In the 540, the Ostrogothic king Witiges was taken prisoner by Belisarius in Ravenna, Ildibads children were also taken p

1.
Non-dynastic

Pope John I
–
Pope John I can also refer to Pope John I of Alexandria. Pope John I was Pope from 13 August 523 to his death in 526 and he was a native of Siena, in Italy. He is the first pope known to have visited Constantinople during papacy and he may also be the Deacon John to whom Boethius, the 6th-Century philosopher, dedicated three of his five religious t

1.
Pope Saint John I

2.
Virgin Mary

Pope John II
–
Pope John II was Pope from 2 January 533 to his death in 535. Born in Rome as Mercurius, the son of Projectus, he became a priest of the Basilica di San Clemente on the Caelian Hill and he was made pope on 2 January 533. The basilica of St. Clement still retains several memorials of Johannes surnamed Mercurius, Mercurius was the first pope to adopt